Five years after breaking up with Ethan Reed, the entire internet suddenly became obsessed with our expired romance. In the viral video, twenty-three-year-old me was wearing a heavy mascot costume, sweating profusely, yet smiling brightly at the camera: "Hi, thirty-three-year-old Maya Brooks! Are you on your honeymoon in the Maldives with Ethan right now? Working three jobs is exhausting! You better make sure Ethan pays you back for this, okay?" No. He never paid me back. Thirty-three-year-old Maya Brooks was left behind by Ethan Reed a long time ago. 1 In late June, a documentary suddenly started trending. The videos garnered immediate attention upon upload. The director was a man who had passed away ten years ago. After being diagnosed with terminal cancer, he quit his job. With a large backpack and a camera around his neck, he embarked on the final journey of his life. He recorded the people and things he encountered along the way, asking a friend to edit and upload the footage ten years later as his final memento to the world. After the first two episodes were released, netizens mostly expressed regret, praising his courage and open-mindedness in the face of death. But when the third episode dropped, the documentary suddenly exploded with unimaginable popularity. At the 13-minute and 22-second mark, an unexpected face appeared. — The current top A-list actor, Ethan Reed. Back then, he was still an extra in Hollywood, his face carrying a trace of nervousness and youth that hadn't yet faded. However, the protagonist of this episode wasn't him, but me, Maya Brooks, his girlfriend at the time. Twenty-three-year-old Maya, eyes full of unconcealed love, boastfully declared to the camera: "I guarantee Ethan will become a Best Actor one day! If not, I'll walk the entire length of the Great Wall on my hands!" 2 I only realized Ethan and I had been trending all night when my agent, Jenna, called to wake me up. We were still trending at the top. I clicked on the viral video and was caught off guard by my ten-years-younger self. It took me a long time to dig out that memory from the dusty corners of my mind. It was the first year after graduation. I accompanied Ethan to Los Angeles while he chased his acting dreams. He acted; I worked odd jobs. While working, I met a man who claimed to be filming a documentary and asked if I was interested in being on camera. Of course, I wasn't. But he acted like he didn't hear me and kept following me around. I couldn't get rid of him. Since he just stood aside holding his camera and didn't interfere with my work, I eventually stopped caring and let him do whatever he wanted. Jenna asked if I needed to contact the platform to handle it. I thought for a moment and shook my head. "No need. It's free publicity." I scrolled through the comments curiously, expecting them to curse me like they did five years ago, calling me a maggot in a cesspool. Unexpectedly, the comments were heading in a strange direction. [Help, can I say this? Why do I feel like I ship them?] [You're not alone.] [It's weird, but hard not to ship, right? Did you see the look in Maya's eyes?] [Same. I haven't seen such pure, love-filled eyes in a long time. It reminds me of the days before I became cynical.] [Maya worked three jobs a day for Ethan back then! Oh my god, I used to curse her! Now... sigh, I don't know what to say.] [Regardless of the ending, true love is rare.] Out of curiosity, I clicked on the video again. I wanted to see what kind of earth-shattering look and behavior I had back then that could make them flip their attitude 180 degrees compared to five years ago. Spanning ten years. Under the erosion and destruction of time, my memory of the past wasn't very clear. But as they said, in the video, twenty-three-year-old Maya's unconcealed love for Ethan was indeed so passionate that it was hard not to be moved. 3 When Ethan was struggling in Hollywood, I worked three jobs a day. I got up at 3:30 AM, went to help at a diner down the street at 4:00 AM, and finished my first shift at 10:30 AM. I went home to sleep for an hour, then put on a mascot suit at 12:00 PM to hand out flyers. Handing out flyers in the summer was torture. It was stuffy and hot inside the suit, and I had to watch out for naughty kids kicking me. After standing for two hours, I was soaked in sweat. At 2:30 PM, I went to work at a coffee shop. It was a bit far from our rental apartment, so I usually went to a nearby public shower for a quick wash before heading to the shop. Five dollars per person. After getting familiar with the owner, I could shower for a month for a hundred bucks. I got off work at 10:00 PM. I had an hour break for dinner in between, and after closing, I had to clean up for about half an hour. Around 11:00 PM, I picked up Ethan from the set. The continuous rotation all day was mentally and physically exhausting. The man filming me couldn't keep up twice. He rested for two days and finally persisted until the end on the third try. He collapsed on the curb, exhausted, asking me: "Little girl, how do you keep this up? Aren't you tired?" Tired! But I had no choice. Even with three jobs and Ethan's meager pay from acting, we barely scraped together enough for rent and daily expenses. And most importantly— In the video, I leaned against the wall, listening to the man's chatter with my eyes closed. Dark circles covered half my face, and my whole body exuded indescribable exhaustion. But in the next second, hearing something, I opened my eyes in surprise. The light that suddenly lit up in my eyes instantly dispelled the fatigue, and I rushed into Ethan's arms like a flower suddenly blooming with life. —Most importantly, I loved Ethan, regardless of the hardship. For him, I fell out with my family, gave up everything arranged for me, and accompanied him to a strange place to strive alone. Love makes people blind. 4 It was probably Ethan's first time seeing the man filming me. He shielded me behind him, looking warily. I explained the situation briefly. After listening, he smiled helplessly and pinched my cheek. "How many times have I told you not to be so defenseless against strangers? Wasn't being scammed out of seven hundred bucks by that grandma with the 'limp' enough?" I giggled and begged for mercy, promising not to do it again. The man stood aside filming quietly, finally unable to hold back a cough. The camera shook. After Ethan appeared, he acted like a real director, interviewing us in front of the camera. The first few questions were irrelevant, about the future, work, and the industry. Ethan and I answered casually. Until finally, the man looked at Ethan and made an inexplicable comment. "You're really handsome!" While I was confused by his sudden remark, he turned to me and suddenly asked: "With such an outstandingly handsome boyfriend, Miss Brooks, are you worried he'll be tempted by various temptations in the industry? Are you sure he'll always love you?" This question was intrusive and sharp. I paused, then laughed as if I heard a joke, linking arms with Ethan. My eyes curved with confident certainty. "Not worried. And I'm sure Ethan will always love me." I looked at Ethan, cleared my throat dramatically, lifted my chin, and held out my hand to him. "Come on, future Best Actor Reed. Someone questions your love now; you have to prove them wrong." Ethan was used to my occasional theatrics. He looked at me gently, his eyes full of tenderness. He got down on one knee, held my hand, and under my shocked gaze, put a silver ring on my finger. "That's right. Ethan Reed will love Maya Brooks forever." "So, Miss Maya Brooks, will you marry me?" I covered my mouth in disbelief, looking at the man behind the camera who was smiling, not surprised at all. I realized this was a plan they had plotted long ago. Overwhelmed by the huge surprise, I pouted, my eyes instantly red, and choked out: "I d—" I closed the video and got up to wash. When I clicked on the comment section again, the wind had quietly changed, and two groups of people were arguing fiercely. [Who are these people shipping them? Ethan is happily dating Chloe Evans now! Shipping him with his ex? Are you sick? Leave the couple alone!] [Ship, ship, ship. When their relationship was exposed back then, Maya was cursed out as a nobody girlfriend. Where were you then? Now you're crying at the grave?] [Do I have extra memories? Why are people asking for them to get back together? Did you forget they broke up because Maya's video of sleeping with a big director was exposed? That breakup was ugly. Maya was roasted to death.] [Finally someone mentioned it. Maya, stop buying trending topics, okay? Don't you know what rotten things you did back then? Stop mooching off our brother. He's happy with Best Actress Evans now. If you're that desperate for money and fame, go sell yourself. You should be familiar with that job.] As discussions surged, the popularity brought by the documentary continued to climb. It was the first time I stayed on the trending list for so long, even longer than five years ago. Just then, Chloe Evans posted on Weibo/Twitter. No caption, just a simple photo. In the photo, she leaned into Ethan's arms with a bright smile, happily showing off a diamond ring on her ring finger. In the fifth year of their relationship, Ethan proposed to her. 5 Ethan and Chloe's history began with the TV drama that made Ethan famous. At twenty-four, he exploded in popularity playing the tragic second male lead in the blockbuster fantasy drama Ascension, directed by Director Zheng. It was a meteoric rise. The next year, he collaborated with Chloe, who played the female lead, in a sweet romance drama. Their CP (couple pairing) fans grew rapidly. Chloe's agency, Skyward Entertainment, extended an olive branch to Ethan, on the condition that he cooperate in hyping their CP. Ethan refused. When the "Ethan-Chloe" ship was at its peak, he announced the existence of me, his non-celebrity girlfriend. He was responsible, and he truly loved me then. Even though after the announcement, under Skyward's intentional suppression, he had no work for nearly a year, and the heat from Ascension rapidly dissipated. Facing my guilt, he just hugged me nonchalantly. "Don't say sorry, Maya. I love you, so I won't let you suffer any grievance. This is my own choice; you don't need to feel guilty." I felt a sting in my nose. At twenty-seven, Ethan accepted Chloe's invitation and collaborated for the third time in the movie Sunset. At twenty-eight, during the reshoots for the movie, a video of Director Zheng and me entering and leaving a hotel together was exposed by paparazzi. Under the internet-wide blackout, my breakup with Ethan was ugly. At twenty-nine, he and Chloe won Best Actor and Best Actress at the Golden Crane Awards with Sunset. While making a beautiful comeback, Ethan announced his relationship with Chloe at the ceremony. CP fans went wild. Solo fans were tolerant of this new sister-in-law. After all, with me as a negative example, Chloe was obviously much better. After that, their careers and relationship developed steadily. One became a three-time Best Actor, the other a top A-list actress. Five years of dating, but no news of marriage. Rumors of their breakup surfaced occasionally, only to be blasted by CP fans every time. And this time, CP fans were celebrating like it was New Year's. [Clowns. Those who ship the ex are clowns just like Maya. See? Face slapped? Our couple is fine and about to upgrade to legal spouses. Those feeling sorry for a cheating tramp, protect your family registry. Karma might leave you with no pages left.] [Boo hoo, so happy! You must stay together forever! leave the shameless trash floating up to us to handle!] Soon, the video of Director Zheng and me from five years ago was dug up and flogged repeatedly. My social media page was flooded with netizens, insults and insults no less than back then. I didn't care much, just thankful again that Director Zheng and his wife didn't have social media accounts, so this filth couldn't dirty their eyes. I turned off my phone and continued working as if nothing happened. I had a tough battle to fight in a few days.
? Continue the story here ?? ? Download the "MotoNovel" app ? search for "390743", and watch the full series ✨! #MotoNovel